Government Girl, by Stacy Parker Aab – Book Review

Stacy Parker is just 18 years old and attending George Washington University when she starts as an intern in the office of George Stephanopolous. A native of Detroit, Stacy has always excelled at school, and she quickly falls into a routine riddled with varying levels of constant stress while she tries to do the best job ever and find her place in life and on the scene in Washington, DC. Over the years Stacy finishes her schooling and goes on to a staff position as the special assistant to Paul Begala all while becoming acquainted with President Clinton, Vernon Jordan, Rahm Emmanuel (on whom she has a crush), and a bevy of other players on the Washington, DC scene. When the Monica Lewinsky scandal breaks, it changes everything that Stacy knows about her president, working in the White House and the dangers of any missteps, real or perceived, when dealing with powerful men.

This book really resonated with me because while Parker Aab does talk extensively about her life and experiences working in the White House and her interactions with powerful men- relevant because all women deal with this on varying scales and degrees- she also delves into and examines her personal life and what it was like for her to adjust to being a woman and what that meant in terms of being vulnerable, but also the power of it which she didn’t fully understand. She explores her expectations of men and relationships and the naive ideas that she had about both and what they may have stemmed from in her childhood. She speaks candidly about what it meant to be an African American woman dating and building a life in predominantly white world. Parker Aab presents her views clearly, and makes no attempts to hide the ways that she trusted in her government and the men around her, even when it makes her seem painfully naive.

Government Girl is told in a loosely chronological fashion with the author dipping back and forward in to time to provide further illumination and parallels to pertinent issues being discussed in the section. While I think the intention was to explain further the result was a bit distracting to keeping place within the story and keeping track of what was going on with different people and their presence in her life. Still, Parker Aab has recounted her experiences to create a riveting story which gives readers a backstage glance down the corridors of power from the point of view of one of its most vulnerable participants.

It never occurred to me when I was in high school or college that I could ever work in the White House. I think this is probably more because I didn’t plan to go in any direction that a DC internship would have led, but it was interesting to hear about people involved in this world at such a young age. Parker Aab was also heavily involved on the President’s advance staff and would travel to other countries ahead of time to prepare for a presidential stay- complete with close working relationships with the Secret Service, and all before she was 23. It’s easy to see why it took me only a few short sittings to get through this book because once I started reading her story, I just didn’t want to put it down. Highly Recommended.

I am an Amazon Associate. This copy was sent to me for review by the publisher via TLC Book Tours.

21 Comments

I’ve been curious about this book, but I haven’t seen it reviewed anywhere yet. I’m so glad you loved it. I’ll definitely be adding it to my list now.
.-= nomadreader´s last blog ..dinner and a movie: Broken Embraces =-.

This looks really interesting – I will have to go read it! When I graduated high school, I thought this was what I wanted to do with my life, I went to American University for a semester, just a few stops from GWU! Thanks for reviewing it, it looks interesting.
.-= Caitie F´s last blog ..The Sunday Salon =-.

I’ve never heard of this book. I’m glad to know it’s not dated and that it can still be read and enjoyed years after the Clinton administration is out. Thanks for the review!
.-= Aarti´s last blog ..Order of Odd-Fish Party =-.

I have never had the least interest in politics, but I would be fascinated to read about her experiences. I sure hope she didn’t say anything bad about George S. because I really like him!
.-= Sandy´s last blog ..When Teachers Talk – Rosalyn S. Schnall =-.

I saw this book in the bookstore but had no idea what it was about. Thanks for the review – this sounds like an interesting and very informative read.
.-= Dana´s last blog ..Teaser Tuesday (1.26.10) =-.

Probably not a book I’ll pick up but it does sound really interesting. I’ll keep in mind for people more interested in reading about Washington than I am.
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Review: The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale =-.

There is a lot of Washington since she worked there but I felt like the strengths for me were really in her examination of her life and how she adjusted as a woman being surrounded by power and her coming of age and family background were really interesting as well. I saw some reviews on Goodreads complain that she talked way too much about stiff that wasn’t DC, but I loved it.

I’m on the TLC Tour for this book and have a great guest post lined up as well. Thanks for the awesome review. I’m in store for a great one.
.-= Serena (Savvy Verse & Wit)´s last blog ..Clover, Bee & Reverie: A Poetry Challenge =-.

This is going on my list immediately!! Stacy is a cool name, especially when it is spelled correctly. And, I love politics and would love to read about that time from her point of view. Thanks for putting this on my radar.
.-= Stacy´s last blog ..Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown =-.

I think Stacy’s discussion of being a woman and the power she was around and the power she didn’t know *she* had would be fascinating. It’s interesting how men and women seem to be inherently different when it comes to power, and whether that’s culture or upbringing or something in our brains, I don’t know. But I love that Stacy is putting out for the public what *she* learned, because I’d love it if the next generation learned what she learned at an even younger age. Thanks for being on this tour, Nicole!
.-= trish´s last blog ..Review – What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman =-.

Sounds like an interesting read. I never think about all of the nameless, faceless people who work in government jobs and deal with important issues and people and we don’t know who they are or what their stories are. I think I would like this one!
.-= Kathleen´s last blog ..I Kill Giants by Joe Kelley =-.

Thia book sounds really fascinating. I think the relationship of gender and power and politics is really important and probably not talking about enough.
.-= Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness)´s last blog ..Pollan v. Kingsolver: A Food Writer Showdown =-.